Episode 2.6
is the sixth episode of the second season and the 16th overall episode of Mindhunter. Short Summary The FBI officially sends the BSU to Atlanta to investigate the missing and murdered children. Wendy second-guesses her interview methods. Full Summary Wichita State University, Kansas The ADT serviceman is making copies. The machine jams, which upsets him. Man comes by and helps unjam it, saying they've been having trouble with it. He gets the paper free and hands it to the serviceman, who says they need to put an out of order sign on it. He only has half his copy, but the man says a Xerox guy will have to clear the other half. The serviceman says to call one because he's not leaving without it. The man opens the front of the copier and pulls out the other part of the paper, which shows the killer's symbol on it. Gregg talks about the case of Paul Bateson, who is believed to have killed six people whose bodies were never identified. He was convicted of only the final murder, when he confessed to it. The death was very different from the others. He's only connected to the others because he told a friend he was the Bag Murderer and he liked to kill. Holden asks if someone who participates in S&M isn't already equating arousal with violence. Wendy explains S/M to the others. Because of the condition of the bodies, they have no idea if S/M was even one of the MOs. Bill thinks no one else would prey on guys like that because they and Bateson were into the same things. Wendy says this case goes beyond that. He was a practiced, organized killer. The victims were easy grabs for him. Wendy wants to find out how essential his sexual practices were to how he killed. Holden's distracted by a nearby TV that's showing a report about the Atlanta murders while Wendy continues to talk. Holden turns on the TV in the room so he can hear the report. Lee Brown is talking about the FBI's involvement. Holden and Bill enter Gunn's office and find him on the phone talking about Atlanta. They're going to send the BSU. The president doesn't want the case to tarnish his first 100 days. Holden is going to Atlanta right away and Bill after the Director's retreat. They're budgeted through the end, so he tells them to pack accordingly. Bill knows that will be a while. They want the case closed. Gunn tells them to play smart. Holden leaves, but Gunn calls Bill back and tells him they'll be okay. Wendy asks Bill how they're supposed to do their work if Bill and Holden keep getting sent away. Bill says it's coming from the top. Wendy can get support staff, but she can't recruit and train agents. Bill says he has to be back in town every Friday for things with Brian, so he'll spend the afternoon at Quantico helping. He tells her to take Gregg to interview Bateson to keep the interviews going. Wendy questions Bill leaving Holden down there on his own three days a week, but Bill says he'll be alone until Monday already because of the retreat. Bill says he'll call Jim Barney to be Holden's wingman. It's three days. Nancy is folding laundry when Bill comes home. She offers him dinner, but he declines and asks about Brian and then about her day. She opens a brand-new set of sheets. He's wet the three times in one week. She'll throw the sheets out if it keeps happening. She got cheap replacements. Before this, he hadn't wet the bed in over three years. She also caught him playing with his baby toys. He was just getting independence. Bill suggests that they talk to Dr. Moritz about it. Nancy says she hasn't packed Bill yet, but his suit is back from the cleaners. He says he'll pack himself. Nancy asks if he talked to Gunn. He needs to take time off. Brian needs him and she needs help. Bill then tells her about having to go to Atlanta after the retreat. As Nancy puts the laundry away, Bill says he'll come home every Thursday night and stay all weekend, every week. Nancy says he says there's nothing he can do, so the decision has been made. Bill checks on Brian, who is sleeping. Rikers Island, New York Bateson talks about sobering up in prison after alcohol caused him to lose his job. He was a radiology technician before becoming an usher in a porn theatre. Now he's back on the right track. They mostly leave him alone, though he'd prefer a little more discipline. Gregg asks him about meeting Addison Verrill, his final victim. They met at a bar and starting talking about porn. He asks if Gregg's seen any porn. Wendy interjects to asks him if bonding in violence is how he prefers to relate to people. He says probably, on a deeper level. Love and sex are violence. Everything is violence. It's just a matter of scale. Wendy asks what Addison thought about Violence. Bateson says he was into it. Bateson and Addison picked each other, even though Addison wasn't really his type. He picked Bateson out of everyone at the bar. He hadn't planned to kill Addison. They went back to his place and had rough sex. When he called the reporter to confess, he told them the couch and rug were covered in crisco. Afterward, he was still high. Addison offered him a joint and Bateson hit him with a skillet and stabbed him. Wendy asks if that was the natural conclusion to the end of arousal for him. He says pain is release. The fear is what you play with. Killing Addison wasn't an extension of the violence. Bateson says it wasn't a soul act for Addison and he was looking for a real connection. There's a moment when something might turn to a real thing and it just didn't. Bateson says at the time of the murder, he was a top. He'd previously been a bottom. He was experienced in finding that moment. She then asks him about the other murders and the person who killed them. He knows they're trying to get him for those. Gregg brings up what he said to his friend. Bateson says he was just fucked up at the time. The cops told him he'd do less time if he confessed. He says the queens want it to be an uptight straight guy, but Bateson says no one would go anywhere with a straight guy. They're looking for guys who know what they're doing. The killer would be experienced. He's looking for someone who wants it, not to die, but to feel what it's like to be close to that. Wendy thinks the killer might have been with his victims before and knew them. Then he'd work them hard until they had a connection, trust with fear. Bateson says everyone in the scene is into their own thing and they'd have to ask the killer himself, as he's the only one who would know. Then he calls a guard and says he's ready to go. Atlanta, Georgia Holden enters the office and looks at the sketches, which are all very different from one another. Jim finds him and says they're getting desperation, but they finally got a lead. Chief Redding plays a recording of a man telling them where to find a body, saying they can count on another one next month before hanging up. Beverly Belt says they all sound the same to her, like meanness. She gets up to leave, asking if they're still looking for her Earl. He might be taller because he's eleven now. They assure her they're looking. Redding tells Holden about the call. They're questioning known Klan members. They think they'll be able to find the body, but they're hoping Holden can help identify the caller. Holden says they won't find the body because that guy's not their killer. It's a hoax. The purpose of the Klan is to sow terror. They wouldn't wait until 18 to claim responsibility. Redding isn't convinced. Holden asks why they wouldn't call the press anyway, like the others. Redding is still not convinced and shows Holden the latest case file. They have four others still missing and the call is the only lead they have. Bill, Nancy, and Brian are with Dr. Moritz. He asks Brian why he took the boys to the house and suggests some possible reasons. He asks more questions about that day. Brian says nothing and just kicks the table softly. Bill, Nancy, and Dr. Moritz watch Brian through a window and talk about Brian. He'll have to remember everything so he can relate to his feelings in an accepting environment. Brian's teacher said he isn't engaging in class and isn't playing with others. Nancy's upset that they visited his class, but they have every right to. They're asked about behavioral changes. He's wetting the bed again. The most common cause of regression in that area is psychological trauma. Nancy tells the doctor about his baby toys and Bill mentions him sucking his thumb. Moritz writes a prescription for the bed-wetting and tells them to set limits, make him clean the sheets when he pees. Nancy's worried it'll seem like they're punishing him. Moritz says he needs to deal with what he experienced instead of displacing it. Nancy says he never talks about it. They drove right past the house and he only wanted pancakes. She's not sure the doctor and case worker aren't the reason he's wetting the bed. She wants him to get back to normal, because kids forget. Moritz says no one simply forgets trauma. Stoneridge Resort, Virginia Bill hands his keys over to the valets and enters the resort. He goes to the desk to check in. Gunn's worried because he's a bit late. Director Webber is also behind, so he gets a pass. Gunn gives Bill tips on how to deal with the meeting. When the director comes in, Gunn approaches him and greets him so Bill can get settled into his room. Nancy calls Brian to his meal, but he doesn't come. She checks his room and goes out to the yard and still doesn't find him. She asks a neighbor of she's seen him and she hasn't. Nancy finds Brian at the playground, watching a girl on a swing. Nancy says he can go play with her, but the girl's mother just tells her daughter it's time to leave. Nancy reminds Brian that it's rude to stare. She says he has to come home now. Rockdale, Georgia A team is out looking for the body the caller mentioned. Holden tries to talk to Redding, but Redding ignores him. He finally calls off the search. Holden tries to make things right with Redding and have him not waste his resources on every tip. He says if he gets a tip, he's going to follow it. Holden shares what they know about killers. Redding has to go brief the mayor, but welcomes Holden's help. The press tries to talk to Redding as he leaves. Then they come to talk to Jim and Holden. The director talks about the Atlanta case. Then he asks Bill what his unit can do for the case. Bill talks about what they've learned about killers so far with their work, particularly the interview with Kemper. They draw a crowd as he talks about how Kemper killed and raped people. They've learned how they become killers. They often have troubled childhoods. Someone suggests wanting to put troubled kids away for life, which disturbs Bill. The other men then go for cigars, leaving Bill sitting there. Bill talks to Nancy and checks in on her and Nancy. She tells him about Brian getting out and the girl and Brian staring at her. There's nothing he can do because it's done. She still wants him to take time off, but knows he can't. She's not sure if she can do it alone. He says she's not alone, but she just says she needs to go to sleep and hangs up. Bill sits with the director, who wants to hear about Manson. Bill settles in to tell the story. Kay reads off questions from a magazine quiz for Wendy. The first one is about ignoring your surrounding because you're into your work. Wendy doesn't answer and Kay says she has a shot answering it for her. She asks another question and Wendy says she has trouble taking a test with a panty liner ad on the back of it. Kay asks another question about initiating conversations. She says she does. Kay doubts it and says she's just trying to get to know Wendy. She asks Wendy what she's burying her face in. Wendy puts her tablet down and says Kay can ask her another question. Kay wants to know what Wendy is working on instead. She says it's the Bateson interview. There's a fine line between giving them enough attention to get them talking and still being able to control the conversation. When it's over in just a few minutes, it wasn't worth the effort. He was forthcoming at first, but when she got to the questions she really wanted to ask, he left. Wendy should have seen it coming because she's studied people like that her whole career, but Kay says that was just on paper. She doesn't have to be an expert on everything the first time. Wendy's just disappointed. Holden watches a news report in the hotel bar. He sees Tanya at the desk and quickly pays. As he reaches the elevator, Tanya calls out to him. He goes up to her and tells her he's there until it's over. She was expecting him back sooner, but he came as soon as he could. They've moved beyond looking into the families. She heard about the phone call. He says he can't discuss details, but they're there to focus on what's most probable. Tanya says every case's probabilities are different. She says he should focus on where the kids were working. He says they will. The newest one was selling car deodorizers. She says not all of them have car deodorizers to sell and they do whatever they can. There's drugs, panhandling, some steal little things to sell. A few may be selling themselves. The kids are told to look out for strangers, but don't have any idea how dangerous some strangers can be. Bill comes home and enters his house quietly. He gets into bed with Nancy, whom he doesn't know is awake. Holden asks Jim what he knows about children prostitution in Atlanta. Jim doesn't have any direct experience, but offers to ask about it. Holden needs information on pedophiles in the area. The Atlanta police walk in, followed by Bill. Holden's glad to see him. He brings in his bag and they update him on what they're doing. Holden talks about information they've gleaned from other serial killers as it applies to the Atlanta case, specifically returning to the sites to relive the crimes. They want to go to previous sites in the case to try to find the guy. People may have seen things. Holden still believes the cases are linked. Redding says they can use recruits from the academy to fill in the gaps in manpower. He agrees to send teams to a previous dump site and tells his staff to assemble teams. Jim wants to work specifically on Earl Terrell's case. Bill offers to round out his team. Holden's going to join Redding. Lakewood, Georgia Jim and Bill ask a woman if she's seen Earl. She saw him and some others, lots of times. She sees everybody in summer. Sometimes, the kids go to one house and sometimes to another. They thank her for her help. They then note to each other that not one person they've talked to was interviewed by the police. Things dropped between the cracks. Elsie, the owner of one of the houses, tells them the police never came to talk to them. She saw Earl the day he disappeared. He was looking for Albert, but Albert wasn't there, so he left. She calls in Albert to tell them about Earl. He mentions that they also knew Lubie, another missing child. They ask if there's anyone else Earl might have been with. Albert says Pat-Man, Patrick Rogers. Elsie says he was also taken, right before Lubie. She didn't like him because he was older than the others. The recruit who's with them comes to the door and says the search team found something. They thank Elsie and Albert for their help and leave. They found a body. It's very close to where a previous body was dumped. Holden says he's returning to the scene. It's not Lubie, but it could be one of the others. One of the searchers found some porn mags, a shoe, and a cigarette. Other searchers call out that they've also found a body. Bill tells Holden they need to get a real forensics unit out there. It's one guy and that area is his graveyard. They got prints off the magazine and found a guy with a record, a plumber. His record only contains one charge of petty theft. He stole tires when he was 19. No violent or racial violence. Holden says the man's white. They can tie him directly to the scene and think it's worth following up, but Holden says the magazines featured adult women, not young boys. He doesn't doubt that their unsub is dumping bodies there, but doesn't think the plumber is who they're looking for. He also doesn't drive a police-like vehicle. Bill wants to get warrants before talking to the plumber because he's worried about evidence getting destroyed. Bill want to bring him in, even just to rule him out. Redding tells them DA Slaton is third-generation law enforcement. He is not just by the book. He is the book. Bill, Holden, and Jim go to an event and say they need to talk to DA Slaton and want him to point him out. The concierge says he can't do that, but he can let Slaton know they're there. He has them go to a nearby room to wait. Bill says they'll only get to talk to Slaton for a minute, so he wants to call to see if the labs are back. Holden opens a door and peeks in on Slaton as he gives a speech. Bill tells them the labs found semen, but no blood. It'll be a hard sell to get a warrant. Slaton isn't convinced they need warrants. Bill tries to explain their work and the nature of the crimes. After some persuasion, he agrees to grant the warrants, but says he wants no press involvement. It has to stay quiet. The warrants are served and the plumber is arrested. His wife is upset and tries to stop them from taking him. They delay the tow truck getting the plumber's truck so he doesn't know they have it until he's in the room. Redding is getting impatient because they're just letting the plumber sit, but Holden explains that's the best way to get him to crack. The commissioner comes in. The commissioner wants them to do something, because he knows Slaton doesn't want anyone getting wind of it. Holden explains their rationale. The commissioner is worried about this becoming a setback. Redding sees press outside and Holden says he'll go make a statement. The commissioner stops him and goes out with Redding instead. Holden asks Bill how the press always finds wherever they go. Bill doesn't know, but hopes they find something in the truck. Holden watches as the commissioner talks to the press. Cast 2x06HoldenFord.png|Holden Ford 2x06BillTench.png|Bill Tench 2x06WendyCarr.png|Wendy Carr 2x06NancyTench.png|Nancy Tench 2x06JimBarney.png|Jim Barney 2x06GreggSmith.png|Gregg Smith 2x06TedGunn.png|Ted Gunn 2x06KayManz.png|Kay Manz 2x06TanyaClifton.png|Tanya Clifton 2x06PaulBateson.png|Paul Bateson 2x06DennisRader.png|ADT Serviceman Dennis Rader 2x06CopyShopManager.png|Copy Shop Manager 2x06LeeBrown.png|Commissioner Lee Brown 2x06NewsAnchor2.png|News Anchor #2 2x06BrianTench.png|Brian Tench 2x06BeverlyBelt.png|Beverly Belt 2x06MorrisRedding.png|Chief Morris Redding 2x06DrMoritz.png|Dr. Moritz 2x06GeorgeWyman.png|George Wyman (left) 2x06WilliamHWebster.png|Director William H. Webster 2x06ParkMother.png|Park Mother 2x06PoliceSergeant.png|Police Sergeant 2x06Reporters.png|Reporters 2x06WayneWilliams.png|Wayne Williams 2x06NewsAnchor1.png|News Anchor #1 2x06NewsAnchor5.png|News Anchor #5 (left) 2x06DekalbChief.png|Dekalb Chief (right) 2x06CobbChief.png|Cobb Chief (second from right) 2x06LakewoodWoman.png|Lakewood Woman 2x06Recruit.png|Recruit 2x06Elsie.png|Elsie 2x06Albert.png|Albert 2x06AlexClarke.png|Alex Clarke (center) 2x06Concierge.png|Concierge 2x06DASlaton.png|DA Slaton 2x06Plumber.png|Plumber Pickett Yarborough (left of center) 2x06PlumbersWife.png|Plumber's Wife (right of center) Main Cast *Jonathan Groff as Holden Ford *Holt McCallany as Bill Tench *Anna Torv as Dr. Wendy Carr *Stacey Roca as Nancy Tench *Albert Jones as Jim Barney *Joe Tuttle as Gregg Smith *Michael Cerveris as Assistant Director Ted Gunn *Lauren Glazier as Kay Manz Also Starring *Sierra McClain as Tanya Clifton *Morgan Kelly as Paul Bateson Other Cast *Sonny Valicenti as ADT Serviceman *David Docobo as Copy Shop Manager *Dohn Norwood as Commissioner Lee Brown *Mark Pettit as News Anchor #2 *Zachary Scott Ross as Brian Tench *Siovhan Christensen as Beverly Belt *Gareth Williams as Chief Redding *Erik Jensen as Dr. Moritz *Christopher Grove as AD Wyman *Brandon Hirsch as Security Agent *Sean Cullen as Director Webster *Anna Magoulas as Park Mother *Gabe Wood as Police Sergeant *Bobby Liga as Reporter #1 *Lila Lazarus as Reporter #2 *Tom Stoviak as Reporter #3 *Christopher Livingston as Wayne Williams *Michael Rubino as Deputy Director #1 *Blythe Howard as News Anchor #1 *Logan Crawford as News Anchor #5 *Scott A. Martin as Dekalb Chief *Rick Kain as Cobb Chief *Marcella Lowery as Lakewood Woman *Darrin Giossi as Recruit *Mystie Smith as Elsie *Nylen Turner as Albert *Bryan McClure as Alex Clarke *John Hawkinson as Concierge *Beau Baxter as DA Slaton *Wes Robertson as Plumber *Grace Hinson as Plumber's Wife Cases Paul Bateson Interview Holden and Bill were set to interview Paul Bateson, who was convicted of only a single murder he confessed to, but was implicated in seven others because he'd confessed to a friend that he was the Bag Murderer. When Bill and Holden were called to Atlanta, Wendy and Gregg went to interview Bateson instead. He talked about Addison and the murder. Wendy asked him about his sexual relationship with Addison and if the death was an extension of that. He said he killed Addison because he was looking for a connection and didn't find it with him. When confronted with his confessed that he liked to kill, he said he was fucked up at the time. He was told he'd get a lighter sentence if he confessed. When asked if he believed it was a straight guy, he said a leatherman can spot a straight guy a mile away and wouldn't go with him. He then explained what the killed might have done. When Wendy asked for more specifics, he said everybody does it a little differently and they'd have to ask the killer directly and then he abruptly ended the interview. Atlanta Child Murders The FBI was sent back to Atlanta to work on the cases and were told they'd be there until the case was over. Holden arrived to find they finally had a lead. They got a call telling them where to find a body and claiming there'd be one a month. After listening to the call, Holden said it was a hoax and there wouldn't be a body. Despite this, Redding decided to devote resources toward looking for the body. Tanya also later indicated to Holden that some of the boys who went missing may have been selling themselves, so Holden asked for files of known child molesters. He also talked to the police chiefs about posting officers where the killer was likely to revisit. They also interviewed witnesses and learned that many potential witnesses had never been interviewed. When another body was found, Holden noted that it was very close to a previous body dump. They also found a porn magazine nearby and a second body. They found that the magazine belonged to a plumber with a previous petty theft charge. Holden noted that he was white and the magazine showed white women, not black boys, so he wasn't what they were looking for. They went to DA Slaton to get a warrant to bring in the plumber, who agreed on the condition they'd keep it quiet. Unfortunately, the press caught wind that someone had been brought in and swarmed the building. Music Notes and Trivia * Gallery Episode Stills 2x06-1.jpg 2x06-2.jpg Quotes See Also Category:Episodes Category:S2 Episodes